Autonomic customization of a virtual appliance

ABSTRACT

A customizer autonomically customizes a virtual appliance by retrieving customization values for various customizable properties of a virtual machine from various providers to customize the virtual appliance in order to simplify deployment of the virtual appliance. The customization properties may include CPU properties, memory properties, storage properties, network properties and properties specific to the software in the virtual appliance. The customizer allows an end user to initiate autonomic customization of the virtual appliance at various times prior to deployment of the virtual appliance. The customizer also allows the user to provide additional customization upon execution.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure generally relates to computer systems, and morespecifically relates to autonomic customization of a virtual applianceby retrieving customization values from various providers to customizethe virtual appliance in order to simplify deployment.

2. Background Art

A virtual machine (VM) is a software implementation of a computer thatexecutes software programs like a physical machine. A single physicalmachine may host one or more virtual machines. Virtual machines allow aphysical machine to run multiple operating systems. A virtual applianceis a prebuilt software solution containing virtual machines and softwareapplications that are integrated, managed, and updated as a package.Virtual appliances simplify the development and distribution of softwareapplications, and shorten implementation time. A virtual appliance maybe described using Open Virtualization Format (OVF). OVF is a developingplatform-independent standard from the Distributed Management Task Force(DMTF) to describe virtual machine metadata and create portablevirtual-machine packages.

Deployment of a virtual machine requires that the virtual machine becustomized for the specific platform and hardware. The customizationincludes information such as: minimum, desired, and max memory and CPUs,storage information (amount, location, pools), and network information(DNS server, IP addresses of VMs, hostnames, gateway). The problem withdeploying virtual machines is that the customization information can bevery technical, and an end user, that is the person who will ultimatelyuse the VMs, may not necessarily have the specialized knowledge of allthe low level details required, especially considering that they vary byvirtualization platform. Thus deploying a VM requires significant manualintervention by administrators with specialized knowledge.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The disclosure and claims herein are directed to autonomic customizationof a virtual appliance by retrieving customization values from variousproviders to customize the virtual appliance in order to simplifydeployment of the virtual appliance. A customizer retrievescustomization values for various customizable properties of a virtualmachine from customization providers to customize the virtual appliance.The customization properties may include CPU properties, memoryproperties, storage properties, network properties and propertiesspecific to the software in the virtual appliance. The customizer allowsan end user to initiate autonomic customization of the virtual applianceat various times prior to deployment. The customizer also allows theuser to provide additional customization upon execution.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent fromthe following more particular description, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system with a customizer thatautonomically customizes a virtual appliance by retrieving customizationvalues from various providers to customize the virtual appliance inorder to simplify deployment of the virtual appliance;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a customizer retrievingcustomization values from appliance customization providers;

FIG. 3 is a table with examples of customizable properties and sourcesfrom which to retrieve customization values for the customizableproperties;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an OVF file used by the customizer forretrieving customization values from appliance customization providers;

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of an OVF file used by the customizerfor retrieving customization values from appliance customizationproviders; and

FIG. 6 is a method flow diagram for a customizer as claimed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein is a system and method for autonomic customization of avirtual appliance by retrieving customization values from variousproviders to customize the virtual appliance in order to simplifydeployment of the virtual appliance. A customizer retrievescustomization values for various customizable properties of a virtualmachine from customization providers to customize the virtual appliance.The customization properties may include CPU properties, memoryproperties, storage properties, network properties and propertiesspecific to the software in the virtual appliance. The customizer allowsan end user to initiate autonomic customization of the virtual applianceat various times prior to deployment. The customizer also allows theuser to provide additional customization upon execution.

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer system 100 is one suitableimplementation of a computer system that includes a customizer asdescribed herein. Computer system 100 is an International BusinessMachines Corporation (IBM®) Power System which can run multipleoperating systems including the IBM® i operating system. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure herein appliesequally to any computer system capable of being connected in amulti-nodal or distributing computing environment. For example, thecomputer system 100 could also represent a single node of a massivelyparallel computer such as IBM® Corporation's Blue Gene® computer system,or a node of a scalable performance cluster such as a Beowulf cluster.As shown in FIG. 1, computer system 100 comprises one or more processors110, a main memory 120, a mass storage interface 130, a displayinterface 140, and a network interface 150. These system components areinterconnected through the use of a system bus 160. Mass storageinterface 130 is used to connect mass storage devices with a computerreadable or computer recordable medium, such as direct access storagedevices 155, to computer system 100. One specific type of direct accessstorage device 155 is a readable and writable CD-RW drive, which maystore data to and read data from a compact disk (CD) 195.

Main memory 120 preferably contains an operating system 121. Operatingsystem 121 is a multitasking operating system known in the industry asIBM® i operating system; however, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the spirit and scope of this disclosure is not limitedto any one operating system. The memory further includes a deploymentengine 122 that deploys a virtual appliance on the computer system or ona related computer system over the network. The memory 120 includes anappliance repository 123 with at least one virtual appliance 124. Thememory 120 further includes a customizer 125 with customization values126 and a customization table 127 as described herein. While thedeployment engine 122, and the customizer 125 are shown to reside in thesame physical machine in FIG. 1, these components will likely reside indifferent physical computers similar to computer 100 as shown butoperate in the same manner as described herein. Further, the appliancerepository 123 will most likely be stored in a block of permanent sharedstorage assessable to computer 100 and loaded into local memory 120(most likely volatile memory) as needed. The permanent storage holdingthe appliance repository 123 could be a local direct access storagedevice 155 or other remote memory storage outside the physical machine100 but assessable to the customizer 125 on computer 100.

Computer system 100 utilizes well known virtual addressing mechanismsthat allow the programs of computer system 100 to behave as if they onlyhave access to a large, single storage entity instead of access tomultiple, smaller storage entities such as main memory 120 and DASDdevice 155. Therefore, while operating system 121, deployment engine122, appliance repository 123, virtual appliance 124, the customizer125, the customization values 126, and the customization table 127 areshown to reside in main memory 120, those skilled in the art willrecognize that these items are not necessarily all completely containedin main memory 120 at the same time. It should also be noted that theterm “memory” is used herein generically to refer to the entire virtualmemory of computer system 100, and may include the virtual memory ofother computer systems coupled to computer system 100.

Processor 110 may be constructed from one or more microprocessors and/orintegrated circuits. Processor 110 executes program instructions storedin main memory 120. Main memory 120 stores programs and data thatprocessor 110 may access. When computer system 100 starts up, processor110 initially executes the program instructions that make up operatingsystem 121 and later executes the program instructions that make up thecustomizer 125.

Although computer system 100 is shown to contain only a single processorand a single system bus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that acustomizer as described herein may be practiced using a computer systemthat has multiple processors and/or multiple buses. In addition, theinterfaces that are used preferably each include separate, fullyprogrammed microprocessors that are used to off-load compute-intensiveprocessing from processor 110. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that these functions may be performed using I/O adapters aswell.

Display interface 140 is used to directly connect one or more displays165 to computer system 100. These displays 165, which may benon-intelligent (i.e., dumb) terminals or fully programmableworkstations, are used to provide system administrators and users theability to communicate with computer system 100. Note, however, thatwhile display interface 140 is provided to support communication withone or more displays 165, computer system 100 does not necessarilyrequire a display 165, because all needed interaction with users andother processes may occur via network interface 150, e.g. web clientbased users.

Network interface 150 is used to connect computer system 100 to othercomputer systems or workstations 175 via network 170. Network interface150 broadly represents any suitable way to interconnect electronicdevices, regardless of whether the network 170 comprises present-dayanalog and/or digital techniques or via some networking mechanism of thefuture. In addition, many different network protocols can be used toimplement a network. These protocols are specialized computer programsthat allow computers to communicate across a network. TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is an example of asuitable network protocol.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a customizer 125 retrievingcustomization values 126 from appliance customization providers 210. Theappliance customization providers 210 may provide one or more relatedcustomization values and there may be more than one provider for asingle customization property. Several example customization providersare illustrated. These examples are for illustrative purposes only anddo not limit the customization values to be provided by any particularsource or grouped together in any particular manner. In the exampleshown in FIG. 2, Provider A 212 includes customization values related tothe central processing unit (CPU) or processor and memory. Provider B214 provides customization values related to IP address. Provider C 216has customization values related to passwords. Provider D 218 hassoftware stack customization values.

FIG. 3 illustrates a customization table 127 of customization properties312 and potential customization providers 210 to provide customizablevalues for the customization properties 312. The customizationproperties are listed in the left column with one or two correspondingproviders 210 for each customization property in the other two columns.The customizer 125 may use the customization table to determine knowncustomization properties 312 of an associated virtual appliance. Thecustomizer 125 may then use the customization table 127 to retrievecustomization values 126 from appliance customization providers 210.

Again referring to FIG. 3, the customization providers 210 for thecustomization values 126 may include any number of sources internal orexternal to the customizer and the local computer system. For example,the customization provider may include a list of rules or guidelinesthat reside in the physical host's file system or somewhere else,predefined values hosted over a Web service by the software stack orproduct providers, a server application with customization valuesprovided by the data center or a system administrator, a web serviceprovided by the Virtual Appliance creator, etc. A customization propertycould also be a web service or application provided as a service by athird party to provide the customization values as described herein. Forexample, a third party could provide a service that generates usernamesand passwords for the virtual appliance. As used herein, a Web serviceis a method of communicating between two computers over a network, inthis case, the Internet. Also, as used herein, a data center is afacility used to house computer systems and associated components, suchas telecommunications and storage systems. It may also include backuppower supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmentalcontrols and security devices, etc.

The customizer may be executed at different times to customize a virtualappliance (VA). The customizer primarily will be executed to build,update or launch a VA as described by the examples herein. However, thecustomizer could also be executed at other times. The customizer may beexecuted by the user to build a VA 124 that is then stored in theappliance repository 123 as shown in FIG. 1. The customizer may also beexecuted as described herein to allow the user to retrieve and update anexisting VA stored in the appliance repository 123. For example, if a VAis changed by adding a virtual machine or a property is changed then thecustomizer could be run again to update the customization values. Inother cases, the customizer may also be executed just prior to the VAbeing deployed to customize the VA. When the user deploys the VA withthe deployment engine 122 (FIG. 1) the user may be given the option toupdate the autonomic customization values or add any additionalcustomization values.

We will now consider some examples of the customizer retrievingcustomization values to customize the VA. The customizer (125 in FIG. 2)identifies known customization properties of the VA and potentialsources of the corresponding customization values using thecustomization table (127 in FIG. 3) or similar data stored in anysuitable data format. The customizer then requests or otherwise obtainsthe customization values by contacting the customization source. In apreferred method, the customizer sends an Open Virtualization Format(OVF) file to the customization source to request the customizationvalues. The customization source then responds by sending back the OVFfile with the customization values populated in the file. Alternatively,just a section of the OVF could be sent, or just a property name couldbe sent to signal the provider to return a customization value. Otherfile formats and communication methods could similarly be used by thecustomizer to contact the customization sources for customizationvalues.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of OVF used by the customizer to obtaincustomization values. This OVF formatted data is metadata for describingthe customization values needed to customize the VA. In this example,the customizer uses the data in FIG. 4 to obtain the customizationvalues from a web service. In the OVF code shown in FIG. 4, theproperties are “ipaddr” 412 and “domainname” 414. The “ipaddr” propertyspecifies the IP address that the resulting virtual machine will havewhen it's created. The end user, the person that is going to use thatvirtual machine may not want to keep track of a list of IP addressesavailable for the various virtual machines that may be deployed inhis/her datacenter. The customizer contacts a Web service created by thedata center administrator that keeps track of all the available IPaddresses and sends the OVF file shown in FIG. 4 to obtain the IPaddress to customize the VA. In this example, the domainname 414 is sentas a context value to give the customization provider a context toprovide a corresponding customization value. Thus the domainname 414tells the customization provider the domain that the VA is operating onso that the web service provided by the data center can provide anappropriate IP address. In this example, it is advantageous for thecustomizer to run just prior to deploying (as opposed to when thevirtual appliance was added to the repository). This ensures that the IPaddresses will not be reserved until the last moment before it isneeded.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of OVF code used by the customizer toobtain customization values. The OVF code in FIG. 5 illustrates twoproperties username 512 and password 514 that will be the credential forthe MySQL Database that the resulting Virtual Machine will have. Inorder not to store the username and password for the database in theactual file, which may not be secure, these two properties can be filledout at just the last moment before deployment by having the customizercontact a Web service created in the datacenter by the administratorthat will generate a username and password to customize the properties,and send those properties to the deployment engine encrypted or over asecure channel for security.

In another example, the customizer is utilized to customize hardwareproperties of the VA such as the number of CPUs 314 and memory 316 shownin FIG. 3. The CPU customization property 314 would refer to the numberof virtual processors allocated to the VA by the deployment engine upondeployment. The customization providers for this customization propertycould include a set of rules in the customizer or a server applicationwhich calculates the number of CPUs need for the VA. The number of CPUsallocated may depend on the number of physical CPUs in the system and/ora quality of service standard for the VA that indicates a satisfactoryresponse level for the VA. The customizer customizes the memory propertyin a similar manner as described above for the number of CPUs.

As shown in FIG. 3, the customizer also provides autonomic customizationof customization properties for the software stack that makes up thevirtual machine. For example the software stack may include antivirussoftware, or backup software. The optimizer may have a property thatspecifies how often the antivirus software or the backup software runs.The customizer could contact a web service created by the user's datacenter that specifies how often and when to run this software. Similarlythere could be firewall software that has properties when to update oneor more access control lists. As will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art there could be many other types of software stackproperties that could be autonomically customized by the customizer in asimilar manner. The customizer also provides autonomic customization ofcustomization properties for the network configuration of the VA. Forexample, the customizer could contact a file external to the system or aweb service at the data center to obtain customization values such asthe IP address and hostnames available for each of the virtual machinesin the virtual appliance, the gateway information, and main and back-updomain name system (DNS) servers.

FIG. 6 shows a method 600 for customizing a virtual appliance as claimedherein. The steps in method 600 are preferably performed by thecustomizer 125 (FIG. 1), but portions of the method may also beperformed by other software associated with the computer system. Thecustomizer may be invoked at various times to autonomically customizethe VA as described in the paragraphs above. First, import the virtualappliance to be customized (step 610). Next, identify knowncustomization properties of the virtual appliance (step 620). Thendetermine a source for the identified customization properties (step630). Contact the determined customization sources and retrievecustomization values for the customization properties that are specificto the client and environment of the virtual appliance (step 640).Optionally, then save the customization values retrieved from thecustomization sources in the virtual appliance, where the virtualappliance may be stored in a virtual appliance repository (step 650).Allow the end user to deploy the customized virtual appliance andoptionally allow the end user to update or add any customization values(step 660). The method is then done.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer readablesignal medium may include a propagated data signal with computerreadable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or aspart of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of avariety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic,optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fibercable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider). Aspects of the present invention are described below withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods,apparatus (systems) and computer program products according toembodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block ofthe flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmabledata processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, orother devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed onthe computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possiblewithin the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure isparticularly shown and described above, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims.

1. An apparatus comprising: a computer system comprising at least onecomputer with a processor and a memory coupled to the processor; avirtual appliance with customization properties for deployment on avirtual machine; a customizer residing in the memory that assists a userto customize the virtual appliance, wherein the customizer determines acustomization provider for a plurality of customization properties andretrieves a customization value for each customization property from thedetermined customization provider.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a customization table with customization properties for thevirtual appliance and corresponding providers for the customizationproperties.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the customizationprovider is a server application at a location remote to the customizer.4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the customization provider is a webservice at a remote data center.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thecustomizer allows the user an option to update any of the customizationvalues prior to deployment of the virtual appliance.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the customization properties include number of virtualcentral processing units, size of memory, an internet protocol address,and a username.
 7. A computer-implemented method for customizing avirtual appliance in a computer system, the method comprising the stepsof: importing a virtual appliance; identifying customization propertiesof the virtual appliance; determining a source for each of theidentified customization properties; retrieving from a plurality ofcustomization sources customization values for the identifiedcustomization properties; and deploying the virtual appliance with thecustomization values.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprising thestep of saving the virtual appliance with the customization values fromthe plurality of customization sources in a virtual appliancerepository.
 9. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step ofallowing an end user to update any of the customization values.
 10. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the steps of identifying customizationproperties of the virtual appliance and determining a source for each ofthe identified customization properties includes accessing acustomization table with the customization properties for the virtualappliance and corresponding providers for the customization properties.11. The method of claim 7 wherein the customization provider is a serverapplication at a location remote to the customizer.
 12. The method ofclaim 7 wherein the customization provider is a web service at a remotedata center.
 13. The method of claim 7 wherein the customizationproperties include number of virtual central processing units, size ofmemory, an internet protocol address, and a username.
 14. Acomputer-implemented method for customizing a virtual appliance in acomputer system, the method comprising the steps of: importing a virtualappliance; identifying customization properties of the virtualappliance; determining a source for the identified customizationproperties; retrieving customization values from a plurality ofcustomization sources for the identified customization propertiesutilizing an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) file to request andretrieve the customization values; saving the virtual appliance with thecustomization values from the customization sources in a virtualappliance repository; allowing an end user to update any of thecustomization values; deploying the virtual appliance with thecustomization values; wherein the steps of identifying customizationproperties of the virtual appliance and determining a source for theidentified customization properties includes accessing a customizationtable with customization properties for the virtual appliance andcorresponding providers for the customization properties; wherein thecustomization provider is a server application at a location remote tothe customizer; and wherein the customization properties include numberof virtual central processing units, size of memory, an internetprotocol address, and a username.
 15. An article of manufacturecomprising software stored on tangible computer readable storage mediumfor execution on a computer processor, the software comprising: acustomizer that assists a user to customize a virtual appliance withcustomization properties for deployment on a virtual machine, whereinthe customizer determines a customization provider for a plurality ofcustomization properties and retrieves a customization value for eachcustomization property from the determined customization provider. 16.The article of manufacture of claim 15 further comprising acustomization table with customization properties for the virtualappliance and corresponding providers for the customization properties.17. The article of manufacture of claim 15 wherein the customizationprovider is a server application at a location remote to the customizer.18. The article of manufacture of claim 15 wherein the customizationprovider is a web service at a remote data center.
 19. The article ofmanufacture of claim 15 wherein the customizer allows the user an optionto update any of the customization values prior to deployment of thevirtual appliance.
 20. The article of manufacture of claim 15 whereinthe customization properties include number of virtual centralprocessing units, size of memory, an internet protocol address, and ausername.